crompton



4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. CROMPTON.

Loom. No. 223,998. Patented Feb. 3,1880.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. CROMPTQN.

Loom.

No. 223,998. Patented Feb. 3', |880.

ILPETERS. PMOTLITHUGnAPMER. WASHINGTDN. D. C.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

G. CROMPATON.

Loom.

mi E 5 5 E5.

NPETERS. PHclO-UTHOGRAPHER, WASHWGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT @Erica GEORGE OROMPTON, OF WORCESTER,MASSACHUSETTS.

LOOM.

SPECIFICATION forming; part of Letters Patent No. 223,998, datedFebruary 3, 1880.

Application filed December 27, 18794 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE CROMPTON, of Worcester, in the county ofWorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inLooms, of which the following needle-looms.77

In this my improved loom the lilling-threads or Wefts of one or morecolors, if colored wefts are used, are placed by weft-heddles,controlled by means of a suitable pattern-surface, in position to beengaged by the jaws of the weft-carrier, and so engaged the weft is, bythe carrier, projected through the open shed, and, arriving at theopposite salvage, weft-nippers (shown xed uponrthe lay, and made in thisinstance of my invention to enter slots in the jaws of the carrier) areclosed upon the weft end held by the jaws extended across the slottherein, after which the weftcarrier is retracted from the shed. As theweft-carrier is giving up to the nippers the free end of the weft aweft-hook located near the selvage at the opposite side of the loom ismoved to a position back of the reed and above the weft just passedthrough the shed, which hook, after the weft-carrier releases and thenipper seizes the end of the weft, is moved so as to carry the iillingat that selvage forward substantially to the cloth making point at orjust before the shed is closed, and

the reed and lay are moved forward to beat up such filling-thread. Inconnection with the nipper I` employ a weft-feeler, which,'if the threadis broken, or is not inserted, operates a drop-rod and places it inposition to actuate,`

throughMsuit-able connecting1 devices, the shipvper-handle of the loom.

The fabric when removed from the loom shows the free end of eachfilling-thread pro! jecting beyond the cross-woven selvages, and duringthe subsequent fulling and finishing 55 operations to which the fabricis subjected the selvages are sufficiently fastened and set to enablethe fabric to be handled without in- J u ry. Figure 1 represents, infront elevation, a loon 6o embodying my invention; Fig. 2,v an endelevation thereof, a portion of the mechanism at the opposite end oftheloom being omitted; Fig.

3, details of the apparatus for cross-weaving the selvages; Fig. 4, aside elevation and top 65 view of the working end of the weft-carrier;Fig. 5, a view looking at the back of the lay at the right of Fig. l, itshowing the device for operating the weft-cutter. Fig. 6 represents, inlongitudinal section, the right-hand 7o end of the auxiliary camshaftand its cams to operate the weft-nipper and the weft-cutter, and to openthe jaws ofthe nipper, and to move the fulcrum of the staff whichactuates the nippers. Fig.7 represents several cross-sections taken onthe dotted lines indicated in Fig. 6. Figs. S, 9, 10, and 11 illustratedetails of the mechanism for placing the weft-threads in position to betaken by the weft-carrier according to the exigenciesof the pattern;Fig. 12, 8o aV detail of the harness-operating levers, jacks, andpattern-cylinder5 Fig. 13, a detail of the left-hand end of the lay,showing the weftnippers and the devices for operating them; Fig. 14, atop view of such nipper, Weft-feeler, 8 5 and devices'to actuate theshipper-handle when the weft failslor is broken; Fig. 15, details of amodiiiedform of carrier in different positions and sections, asindicated by section lines, the'weft-cutter being attached to the 9ocarrier; Fig. 16, a detail showing the crankpin andintermittingly-moving gear to reciprocatev the weft-carrier through theshed, it being taken on the dotted lines, Fig. 17. Fig. 17 is a topviewof the usual cam-shaft andthe 95 mechanism connected with `itto controlthe movement of the weft-carrier', Fig. 18,21J detail showing thefriction device for holding the carrier-actuating shaft in position whennot positively actuated by the intermittingly-operated gear; Fig. 19, adetail showing the Weft in position to be taken by the weftcarrier,

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and to be then cut off by the cutter; Fig. 20,

. a detail showing the weft-catcher, located at or near the cloth-makingpoint. Fig. 21 is a detail of the let-oft' apparatus. Fig. 22 is a frontelevation on the plane of line o o, Fig. 2, showing the staff, theweftjaw, and weft-cutter, with their respective connected operatingdevices, the lay and frame being broken away. Fig. 23 is a cross-sectionon line 3 4of Fig. 22, and Fig. 24 is a sectional plan view on line l 2of Fig. 22.

In the drawings the harness-frames for the main warps of the fabric andtheir operative mechanism, such as upright levers, elevator anddepressor, notched jacks and pattern-surface, are as in looms heretoforepatented to me, and need not be specifically described.

Instead of the particular shed-formiiig devices herein shown by nie Imay employ any other well-known or suitable devices for like purposes.

To cross-weave the selvage-warps I pass one warp-say warp a-through theeye of pulleyT c, which, in connection with pulley d, receives andguides the cross-weaving heddle e, having an eye, f, it being sooperated as to raise warp y first at one and then at the opposite sideof warp a. This cross-weaving holds the free ends of the weft-threadsfirmly, more so than would be the case if the selvagewarps were shed asthe body-warps. I desire it to be understood, however, that for somefabrics the selvage-warps need not be woven after the manner ofcross-weaving.

The frame l of the loom is of proper shape to support the working parts.

The crank-shaft, operated by any suitable power, will be connected bylinks with the lay m, having its arms supported on the auxiliarycam-shaft a. I

The gear o on the crank-shaft engages a gear, p, on the cam-shaft q,provided with a bevelgear, r, which engages the bevel-gear s on theshaftt, sustained in a bearing, u, such shaft having an arm, c, provided witha pin, 2, which enters notches w in an intermittinglyoperated gear, ai,secured to a shaft held in bearings y. (See Fig. 17.) This gear x, inthis instance of my invention, is moved at each operation one-third ofarotation, engages with a pinion, 3, on a shaft, 4, having a crank, 5,and connected by an adjustable link, 6.l with a staff, 7, having itsfiilcriiin on a pin, 8, (see detail, Fig. 7 secured to a'sliding post,9, connected with plate a2, adapted to be moved'in guideways l0, securedto a rocking arm, l1, pivoted at l2on an ear, 13, projecting from abracket, 14, attached to the loom side, near the base oftheshipperfhandle. Theinner end ofthis guideway is held b'yabracket, 15,projecting from the sword 16 of the lay. (See detail, Fig. 7.) The upperend of this staft7 is connected by link 17 with slide-bar 18, adapted tobe reciprocated between guideways 19, made at the front of the lay. Abracket, 20, projected upward from this slide-bar 18, has connected'with it the back end of the bar 21, which, at its forward end, isprovided with the weftcarrier b2, it being composed, as shown in Fig. 4,of a fixed jaw, 22, and a movable jaw, 23, having' its fulcruin at 24,both jaws being slotted, as shown Aat 25. The rear end of theinovablejaw 23 is acted upon by the spring 26 to retain it closed,except when such rear end is acted upon by the finger 27, pivoted upon abracket, 28, the said finger having joined with it a rod, 29, providedwith a shoe, 31h-which restsnpon and is moved bya cam, 31, on theauxiliary shaft n.

When the weft-carrier is about to be moved into the shed the forward endof this finger 27 is depressed through the action ofthe tappet 31 on theshoe 30, and by acting upon the rear end of the movable jaw 23 opens itpreparatory to receiving between it and the fixed member 22 aweft-thread placedin position by one of the lieddles c2, connected withone of the iin gers d2,- pivoted at c2, and adapted to be lifted by thepins of the weft-pattern cylinder I or surface f2, moved through ratchetg2, the pawl h2, the lever Z2, link m2, and a crank-pin on pinion 02.(See Fig. 2.)

The weft-thread having been placed between the jaws of the wettcarrier,and the latter having been moved beyond the iniiuence of the nger 27,the jaws are closed by the spring, thereby grasping the weft firmly. Atthis time the weft-cutter separates the weft between the weft-carrierand selvage. This weft-cutter. as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5, and 19, iscomposed of two shear-like blades,.33 and 34, one of which, 34, is heldrigidly by a screw or pin, 35, projecting from a lever, 36, pivoted at37 to a projection, 38, rising from the lay-sword 16. (See Fig. 5.)

The movable blade 33 of the cutter is held by a pin, 40, and isconnected, by means ofl a link, 41, with an elbow-lever, 42, pivoted onthe lay at 43. This elbow-lever has a pin, 44, (see Fig. 5,) which isembraced by a slotted arm, 45, connected with rod 29, so that as thesaid rod is made to descend under the action of the spring 46 thereonthe said elbow-lever and link will operate the vmovable blade of thecutter and sever the weft. This cutting device is raised and lowered, toplace it in contact with the weft at the proper time, through the actionof a rod, 47, acted upon by a cam, 48, on shaft n. The upper end of thisrod 47 is connected with one end of a lever, 50, which, at its oppositeend, has a link, 51, which is joined with lever 36, which supports thecutters. A spring, 52, on this rod 47 forces it downward toward the cam48.

The weft-cutting device is lifted just as the lay starts to movebackward, and remains elevated while the weft-carrier passes ito and ispartially withdrawn from the shed. Just before the lay beats up the weftthe cutting IOO IOS

device, then completely lowered, is opened ready to receive between itsmembers the weft next to be introduced.

The cam-shaft q has a pinion, 54, which engages a beveled pinion, 55, ona shaft, 56, such shaft having a second beveled pinion, 57', whichengages a beveled pinion, S, on and rotates the auxiliary cam-shaft a,which shaft, eX- tended across the loom-frame, has cams 59, 48, and 31,and also a cam-grooved hub, 60, this latter receiving within its grooves61 a pin projecting from the plate a2, which carries the fulcrum-pin ofstai 7.

When the weft-carrier is being retracted from the shed and the lay ismoving forward the fulcrum-pin of the staff 7 is moved toward theloom-center by the cam-hub 60, thereby increasing the speed of thewithdrawal of the weft-carrier. The weft-carrier is withdrawn frombetween the warp somewhat before the lay reaches the cloth-making point,andthe crank 5 then remains at rest, as shown in Fig. 1.

During the latter portion of the forward movement of the lay theweft-carrier, solely by the action of the cam-hub 60, is moved forwardfar enough to permit the iinger 27 to open its jaws to engage the properweft extended between `the selvages and a weft-heddie eye, such weftbeing also extendedbetween the cutters, and just before, or it may be ator just after, the reed beats upthe weft. the weft-carrier, moved beyondthe action of the finger 27, is closed upon the weft next to be placedin the shed, and such weft is cut ott' close to the selvage. Preferablythe weft will be cnt oit' about as the lay fully completes its forwardstroke, for by so doing the minimum length of weft end beyond theselvage is attained, which, in practice, is a matter of greatimportance, for otherwise the loss of weft would be very considerable.lhe weft-carrier, made to grasp a weft at the forward position ot' thelay and close to the selvage, must remain closed as the lay is movedbackward and until the shed is opened, when the crank 5 again moves thestad to carrier through the shed.

`The cam 59 eleva-tes a rod, 62, carried by the lay, the rod beingconnected at its upper end with the movable member 63 of theweftnippers,while the Xed member 64 is secured to the upperside ot' therace-beam.

The member 63, pivoted at 66, has connected with it a lifting-finger,67, which, as the nipper is opened to receive between its members theweft-thread held by the wett-carrier, lifts the outer end of thewet't-feeler 68, and with it the drop-rod 69, as shown in Fig. 13. andconsequently depresses the front end of the said feeler.

The lower member ot' the nipper is provided with a projection, 70, whichenters the slot 25 project the weftat the end of the weft-carrier, whenthe latter arrives in position to present the free end of the weft, heldextended across the slot of the carrier, so as to be taken by thenipper. rlhis projection lifts the weft, and at the saine time serves asa guide for the weft-carrier while it delivers the weft.

As the end of rod 62 leaves the end or shoul` der of the cam 59, (shownin front and side elevation in Fig. 13, the lay then being in itsbackward position,) the spring 7l, surrounding the rod 62, depresses itand closes the lmovable member ot the nipper upon the weftthread, suchnipper holding the free end of the weft while the weft-carrier is beingwithdrawn from the shed and the lay is being moved forward. Ask the layreaches its forward position the nipper is opened and releases the weft.

Just after the nipper closes upon the end of the weft thread, the weft-feeler being no longer held up, as described, the weight of thedrop-rod 69 elevates the end 72 of the weftt'eeler 68, throwing itupward toward the weft, which, if present, will prevent the fingerrising'far enough to permit the` drop-rod 69 to descend and meet thelever 73. On the contrary, it the weft is absent or broken, the iinger72, being unobstructed, will be free to rise, and the drop-rod 69 willdescend and strike the inclined end ot' the lever 73, which will movethe bar 74 in the direction ot' the arrow near it, and cause theinclined end, 75, of such bar to release the shipper-handle 76, which isheld in the usual notch of the shipper-lever holding-plate attached tothe loom-frame at the end of the breast-beam, and the loom will stopweaving without losing the pick.

The take-up roller derives its motion from a pin, 77, projecting fromthe lay, it operating a pawl provided at its rear end `with anadjustable weight, 79.

The weft-holding bobbins 80, containing the weft-threads, of one or morecolors and of the same or different materials, are placed on a suitablestand, and the weft-threads S1 are led through suitable guides 82,thence through eyes of a guide, 83, where such threads have applied tothem tension-rods 84, attached to levers 85, having connected springs86, which `draw down the tension-rods to take up the slack in the wett.From the eyes ot these tension-rods the wefts are led into and throughthe eyes 87 of the weft-heddles c2, they moving through a suitableguide, 88, such heddie-eyes being actuated as before described. VFromthese heddle eyes the wefts extend through a wct't-guidin g reed, 89, tothe selva-ge. Just as the weft-carrier 'delivers its thread to thenipper a weft-catcher, 90, on 4a shaft, 91, is actuated in the directionof the arrow near it in Fig. 2 to `pass backward through the reed aboveand beyond the weft just carried into the shed and delivered to thenipper, such catcher remaining in such position until the weft-carrieris about retracted from the shed,

when it ismoved forward toward the clothmaking point, drawing the weftat that side ofthe selvage opposite the nipper, and placing it in thenotch a5 of the weft-holderb,

where it is held iirmly while the reed of thel lay beats up the wett,and While the nipper releases the free end thereof. The shaft ot' thiswett-catcher derives its motion from a cam, 92, operated by thecrank-shaft, it moving a radius-bar, 93, connected by link 94 with thearm 95, projecting from shaft 91, a spring,

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96, holding the radius-bar against the cam 92. Each weft-thread held bythe nippers and drawn back by the weft-catcher at each forward motion ofthe lay is placed in the hook 5 of the weft-holder, and, extending fromthe selvage through such notch, each weft may be separately lifted byits heddle back ofthe lay, and be placed in position to be taken by theweft-carrier, according to the desired pattern. The weft-catcheroperates to draw back each weft separately, the wefts not being carriedinto the shed, being retained out of' the way of the catcher by theweft-holder. The cam c5 on shaft 1 strikes a friction-pad, d5, andcauses it to press against the disk e5 and hold the shaft 4 in positionwhen not positively moved by the Wheel x. The warp-beam f5 has at one ofits ends an annularly-grooved disk, about which is passed a frictioncord or strap, g5, controlled by means of a suitable adjusting device,so that the beam may be held with just enoughforce to keep it fromrotating farther ythan moved positively by the 4 warp under the actionof the reed and take-up. The Warp h5 is passed from the Warp-beam upover a small roller, 5, thence down under and up over a friction-roller,j, preferably provided with an elastic or cloth surface. At one end thiswarp friction-roller is provided with a pinion, r5, which engages with apinion, l5, on a shaft, m5, provided with a friction-wheel, a5, havingextended about it a friction strap or band, 05, connected with one endof which is a lever, p5, and an adjustable Weight, g5. The principalportion of the tension on the warp to hold it from paying out too freelyis produced by the strap or band o5. The friction-wheel is moved orrotated solely by the friction of the warp upon its surface, as thelatter is beat up at each weft-crossing, and taken up by the take-up.

In Fig. 15 I have shown a form of weft-carrier and thread-cutter Which,in. practice, I prefer to use instead of the weft-carrier and theindep'endently-operated weft-cutting devices heretofore described. Insuch gurethe upper and lower members of the jaws of the weft-carrier areeach provided with a weft-cutting blade, the jaw 22 with a blade, 97,and the jaw 23 with a blade, 98. Such construction enables meto entirelydispense with the devices for raising and lowering and opening andclosing the cutters shown 1n Fig. 19.

The pins 99, at the front end of the fixed l claim- 1; The combination,in a loom, of the following instrumentalities', viz: a reciprocatingweft or filling-thread carriermechanism to present the 4filling to theweft-carrier, a weftcutter to.l sever the lling between the carrier 2.rllhe combination, with the lay, of a reciprocating weft-carrier tograsp the weft, and a shear-cutter mounted on said lay, and means toactuate the cutter to sever the weft near the cloth-making point, asdescribed, prior to the movement of the weft carrier into the open shed,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a loom, a nipper to hold the weft at one selvage,com bined with aweft-catcher to draw the weft forward into the angle formed by thecrossing warps prior to beating in the weft, substantially as described.

4. In a loom, a weft-holder located at the cloth-making point to holdthe several Wefts between the selvage and the bobbin containing theweft, in combination with a weft-carrier adapted to grasp such weft asthe lay is at or near its forward stroke, and a weft-cutter to sever theweft between the holder and carrier before the weft is passed throughthe shed, the holder, carrier, and cutter being all located at one sideof the chain of warp, substantially as described.

5. A weft-holding nipper located at one end of the lay and aweft-catcher to seize and move the weft forward to the cloth-makingpoint at that -selvage most remote from the ni pper before the weft isbeaten in by the reed, combined with a weft-holder located at thecloth-making point, and adapted to hold all the weft-threads in positionto be lifted by the weft-selectin g mechanism preparatory to beinggrasped by the weft-carrier on its way into the shed, and means tooperatev the said devices, substantially as described.

6. A weft-carrier to grasp a weft extended between the selvage of thecloth being woven and the bobbin of weft, pattern mechanism to selectand place the weft in position to be taken by the weft-carrier accordingto the exig'encies of the pattern, weft-cutting mechanism to sever theweft before it is carried through the shed, all the said mechanism beinglocated at one side of the loom, combined With weft-nippers at theopposite side of the loom to hold the free end ofthe weft carriedthrough the shed, and means to operate the said devices, substantiallyas and for the purpose described.

7. The reciprocating weft-carrier and its' slide-bar and link 17,combined with shaft 4, pinion 3, crank 5, the connected staff 7,continuously -rotated shaft t, and the intermit- IOO IIO

tin gly-operated gear x and its actuating crankpin, whereby the staffmay be moved at ntervals from the continuously-rotatin g shaft,substantially as described.

8. The staff 7, to operate the weft-carrying devices, and itsfulcrum-pin, carried by a movable plate, and a guideway for the plate,combined with a cam to move the fulcrum-pin toward and from the loomside, substantially as described.

9. A cam-shaft located at or near the center of motion of the vibratinglay and su'itable cams mounted thereon, combined with a Weftcutter, aweft-carrier, and a weft-nipper, and connecting means whereby thesedevices are actuated from the said cams, substantially as described.

10. In combination, the Weft-nippers to receive the weft from thecarrier, a weft-feeler, a drop-rod, a lever, anda slide-bar to releasethe belt-shipper and stop the loom when the weft is absent or broken,substantially as described.

ll. A weft-holder, a weft-carrier, a heddle, and a pattern-surface tocontrol it, to present a weft to the open jaws of the weft-carrier closeto the cloth-making point as the weftcarrier approaches the selvage,combined with a finger to open the jaws ot' the weft-carrier and devicesto operate the finger at the proper time, substantially as described.

12. The staff 7, the connected crank 5, shaft 4, and gearing adapted, asdescribed, to actu.- ate it at intervals, combined with the fulcrumpinof the sta", a plate to hold it, and a guideway and a cam to move thesaid plate and fulcrum-pin, substantially as and for the

